Elite Shanghai school sets the top global benchmark

IT TAKES more than ferocious tiger mothers and rote-learning children to enable Shanghai Middle School to stake its claim as the most successful in the world.

It is leading an education revolution, rolling slowly across elite schools in China's wealthy cities, by breaking out of the Confucian mould.

''We encourage students to be innovative, have their own independent thinking and command 21st century skills,'' says principal Tang Shengchang. ''The main thing is to broaden their viewpoint and open them to international ideas.''

The new emphasis has seen Shanghai students jump to the top of world tables in maths, science and literacy, say international education officials, while the performance of Australian students has declined.

The last report by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in December 2010, showed the maths proficiency of average year 9 students in Shanghai was 3½ years ahead of their Australian counterparts.

Barry McGaw, former director of the education division at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which conducts the PISA surveys, is now driving the new national curriculum as chairman of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority.

He says the top-performing nations can demonstrate a demanding study-ethic, as in north Asian nations, or high teacher status and salaries, as in Finland, but they all strive for and expect success.

''We've been trying to drive the level of ambition,'' says Professor McGaw, ''and we've got to raise the standard of our teachers.''

Tests recently conducted for the next PISA report, due in December, will show Shanghai students have further improved their results and consolidated their lead in the world, Shanghai education officials report.

Teachers at Shanghai Middle School, the city's top-ranked school, can barely recognise today's students from their predecessors.

''Ten years ago I focused on grammar but now I just focus on the practical use of English, including the background history and geography of literature'' says English teacher Yang Rong. ''Now we focus on critical thinking and we have debates.''

One of her year 11 students, Ding Yunfeng, has been working on an invention to solve the problem of bacteria growing in the large bottles by which most of the city's residents source their drinking water.

''They drink it slowly so bacteria has time to grow,'' says Ding. ''So I'm making a sustained releasing device that releases chlorine dioxide that can kill the bacteria.''

One key finding in the 2012 PISA results was that Shanghai education authorities have accepted the message that creativity and critical thinking require students to be encouraged to ask questions and take risks.

''Maybe it's time to change some of our stereotypes,'' says Andreas Schleicher, deputy director of the OECD's education division. ''What you see today in the school system in Shanghai is what you are going to see in the labour market tomorrow.''

Every one of the thousands of Shanghai Middle School graduates in the past decade has gained entry into tertiary education, according to the principal.

But one in five graduates are choosing to head straight to universities overseas, suggesting serious education challenges remain.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/elite-shanghai-school-sets-the-top-global-benchmark-20130125-2dbyk.html